July 13th, 2018 12:57 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 7/13/18Friday's bond market has opened in positive territory due partly to favorable results from today's only economic release. The major stock indexes are showing minor gains with the Dow up 21 points and the Nasdaq up 9 points. The bond market is currently up 4/32 (2.83%), which should improve this morning's mortgage rates by approximately .125 of a discount point.Yesterday's 30-year Treasury Bond auction was uneventful with benchmarks showing an average level of interest in the securities. The bond market had little reaction to the 1:00 PM results, meaning mortgage rates were unaffected by the sale.Today's only relevant economic data was the University of Michigan's preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment for July at 10:00 AM ET. It came in at 97.1, down from June's 98.2 and weaker than the 97.8 that was expected. This means that surveyed consumers did not feel as good about their own financial situations as they did last month. This is good news for bonds and mortgage rates because waning confidence usually means consumers are less likely to make a large purchase in the near future. Today's reading will be revised in two weeks, but this index is considered to only be moderately important to the financial and mortgage markets.Next week does not have a large number of events scheduled but most of what is on the calendar is expected to be pretty influential. Unlike most Mondays, we start the new week with an important piece of economic data when June's Retail Sales report is posted. It tracks consumer level sales that make up over two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Then mid-week we have Fed Chairman Powell's semi-annual two-day congressional testimony on the status of the economy and monetary policy plans. After those events, there is little economic data scheduled that we need to watch. However, corporate earnings season gets into full-swing, possibly driving stocks and bond trading any day. Look for more specific details on next week's activities in Sunday evening's weekly preview.If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would....Lock if my closing were taking place within 7 days...Lock if my closing were taking place between 8 and 20 days...Lock if my closing were taking place between 21 and 60 days...Float if my closing were taking place over 60 days from now...This is only my opinion of what I would do if I was financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.**http://www.hlmcolorado.com/DailyRateAdvisory
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